Activists have opposed the conditional approval accorded by the State Government to THDC India limited for raising the level of water in the Tehri dam reservoir.
The activists state that the decision to raise the water level to 830 metres is unethical and unjustifiable since the bridges to connect the both sides of dam reservoir have not yet been constructed while even the basic facilities that were supposed to be provided at the rehabilitation site have not been ensured. The State government is responsible for protecting the rights of those displaced by the dam construction and should not take this step.
According to Vimal Bhai of Matu Jansangathan, the government should allow raising of the water level only after complete rehabilitation is accomplished. "We got to know that in 2002, the Central Government had written a letter to the State Government according to which land in the area of Pathari part I to IV could be transferred from the Forest department to the affected people but 12 years since then the people have continued to face difficulties due to delay in availability of land rights because of the apathetic attitude of the State Government. In such circumstances, the permission to raise the water level in the dam reservoir is completely unjustified."
He adds, recently the Chinyalisaud bridge was submerged throwing out of gear the routine life of people in about 40 villages around the dam reservoir. "We request the State Government to withdraw the permission granted to THDCIl. We understand that the reservoir has to be filled to its capacity but this should not be done without proper rehabilitation as unregulated freedom to companies implementing power projects is unjustifiable. Since 2006, the Supreme Court had not giving permission for filling the dam reservoir to full capacity due to lack of full rehabilitation of the affected. Environmental issues have been completely ignored by authorities, the consequences of which are being experienced since 2010," he said.
Activists Puran Singh Rana and Balwant Singh Panwar state that Tehri dam is a huge HEP not just for Uttarakhand but for the entire nation. Ignoring problems of displaced population and focusing mainly on power general is unethical. Till every displaced person is given land rights and all bridges are built to facilitate connectivity for those living around the reservoir, the dam reservoir should not be filled to full capacity, they stressed.